Ground motions and Structural Responses

caused by the Great Tohoku-Kanto

Earthquake, March 11, 2011

Dionysius Siringoringo
dion@bridge.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Bridge & Structure
Univ. of Tokyo
2011 Great Tohoku-Kanto Earthquake
Magnitude : Mw 9.0 (JMA)
World’s largest earthquake Date : March 11, 2011
Andreanov 1957 (Mw9.1)
Trigger time : 14:46 JST
Kamchatka 1957 (Mw9.0)
Tohoku Kanto 2011 (Mw9.0) Epicenter Depth : 24 km
Alaska 1964 (Mw9.2)
(JMA), 32km (USGS)
Sumatra 2004 (Mw9.0)
Location : 38.103°N,
142.860°E (JMA, as of
Chile 2010 (Mw8.8)
2011-03-13)

Region : on the pacific

Chile 1960 (Mw9.5)
coast along from Sanriku to
Ibaraki coast,
Japan
Source : Earthquake research institute (ERI Univ of Tokyo)

Fourth largest in the world since 1900, and the largest in Japan since modern
instrumentation recordings began 130 years ago.

Casualty : Confirmed Death 11,620, unaccounted for 16,464 (until April 1, 2011)
Observed JMA Seismic Intensity distribution Vertical Deformation and Slip Distribution
from model (prelimiary results)
(Geospatial Information Authority of
Japan)

source : Japan Meteorology Agency (JMA) Source: Geospatial Information Authority of

Note: in some areas intensity are updated later on Japan, http://www.gsi.go.jp/cais/topic110315-
to larger value. index-e.html
Tsunami Warning Issued right after the earthquake by JMA
Maximum Height of Tsunami, Measured and Simulated by Model
(Yushiro Fujii (IISEE, BRI) and Kenji Satake (ERI, Univ. of Tokyo))  

Solid lines in red and blue indicate the observed tsunami waveform and syntetic ones, respectively
Source: http://iisee.kenken.go.jp/staff/fujii/OffTohokuPacific2011/tsunami.html
 List of Ground Motions with largest Horizontal Peak Acceleration
(Data provided by K-Net and Kik-Net Service)
Distance (km) PGA (xG)
Station Location Code Provider Horizontal
Groundmotion
To epicenter To Fault
TSUKIDATE  MYG004 KNET 125.9 75.1 2.755
SHIOGAMA  MYG012 KNET 118.1 67.4 2.009
HITACHI  IBR003 KNET 245.2 58.7 1.631
SENDAI  MYG013 KNET 126.1 71.8 1.548
HOKOTA  IBR013 KNET 292.3 77.8 1.383
MOTEGI  TCG014 KNET 276.8 87.7 1.23
HAGA  TCGH16 KIKNET 283 95.1 1.221
NISHIGOU  FKSH10 KIKNET 238 106.3 1.084
OSHIKA  MYG011 KNET 75.7 49.7 0.94
YAMAMOTO  MYGH10 KIKNET 136 67.9 0.889
MIYAKOJI  FKSH19 KIKNET 173 69.1 0.874
BATOU  TCGH13 KIKNET 262 90.2 0.857
IWASE  IBRH11 KIKNET 293 91.8 0.844
MITO  IBR006 KNET 275.3 70.8 0.802
GOZENYAMA  IBRH15 KIKNET 268 78.7 0.797
TOHWA  MYG003 KNET 103 59.2 0.797
RIKUZENTAKATA  IWTH27 KIKNET 107 54.3 0.753
KAMAISHI  IWT007 KNET 114.3 49 0.711
UTATSU  MYG002 KNET 87.2 52.1 0.671
SOHMA*  FKS001 KNET 140 63.8 0.632

* SOHMA is located about 43 km from Fukushima Daiichi Power plant

MYG: Miyagi prefecture, IBR/IBRH: Ibaraki, TCG: Tochigi, FKS/FKSH: Fukushima, IWT: Iwate
Characteristics of ground motions
(E-W) Taneichi

Kamaishi

Tsukidat
e

Shiogama

Sendai
Fault plane

Soma

Hitachi
Characteristics of ground motions
(N-S) Taneichi

Kamaishi

Tsukidat
e

Shiogama

Sendai
Fault plane

Soma

Hitachi
Characteristics of ground motions (NIED preliminary report)

• Ground motions near the source display two

remarkable phases of mainshock suggesting the
existence of a least two areas of large slip.
• In the northern part of the source area the first
phase is predominant, while in the southern part and
in Kanto region, this phase is not visible.
• These two phases of ground motion suggest large
slip areas in the North and South regions
respectively.
Records with largest PGA : Tsukidate Station, Miyagi. Distance to
epicenter : 125.9 Km, Distance to Fault 75Km (K-NET)
1000
Acc(cm/s 2)

MYG004-EW
0
Max =1.25 G
-1000
50 100 150 200 250 300
Time(s)
Acc(cm/s 2)

2000 MYG004-NS
0
Max =2.75 G
-2000
50 100 150 200 250 300
Time(s)
2000
Acc(cm/s 2)

MYG004-UD
0
Max =1.8 G
-2000
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Time(s)
Comparisons with the Kobe 1995 and Niigata Chuetsu 2004 Earthquakes

Tohoku-Kanto 2011 Magnitude 9

Tsukidate Station, PGA = 2.75G

(Seismic intensity 6.67 ) Two main shock events last for 2 minutes

Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake (Kobe

1995) Magnitude 7.2
Kobe-JMA station , PGA=0.82G
Seismic intensity 7
One main shock event lasts for
about 30 seconds
Niigata-Chuetsu Earthquake (Oct 23, 2004)
Magnitude 6.8
Ojiya station, PGA=1.33G
Seismic intensity 7

One main shock event lasts for about 20 seconds

Acceleration amplitude and duration of shaking,

this earthquake is much larger than Kobe 1995.
 Records from Soma City about 43km from Fukushima Power
Plant. Distance to epicenter 140km, distance to the fault 63 km (K-
NET)

Reactor was designed to sustain maximum PGA 440 gals. TEPCO has planned to reinforce
the reactors so they could withstand horizontal shaking of 600 gals, after the government
reviewed their quake-resistance standards 5 years ago. But the work was not finished.
Source: NHK-TEPCO (http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/01_39.html)
 Acceleration Response Spectra for several large ground motions
and comparison with the current Japanese code

Ground motion Type I is for plate

boundary type large-scale
earthquake

Ground motion Type II is for inland

direct strike type earthquake, such
as the Hyogo-ken Nanbu Earthquake
(Kobe 1995) ,

Class (e.g.I and III) is divided

Accel amplitude for short period structure. according to ground condition, and
are larger than the current code. the ones depicted on figure are the
maximum for each type.
 Acceleration Response Spectra for several large ground motions
and comparison with the current Japanese code

Ground motion Type I is for plate

boundary type large-scale
earthquake

Ground motion Type II is for inland

direct strike type earthquake, such
as the Hyogo-ken Nanbu Earthquake
(Kobe 1995) ,

Class (e.g.I and III) is divided

Accel amplitude for long period structures according to ground condition, and
(highrise building, long-span bridge) are the ones depicted on figure are the
smaller than the current code. maximum for each type.
Comparison of Tohoku-Kanto 2011 Response Spectrum
to other recent large earthquake in Japan

Compared to Kobe 1995 earthquake, the

Tohoku-Kanto 2011 spectra :

1.contains larger amplitude for short

Envelope of Tohoku-Kanto
2011 Spectra
Envelope of Kobe 1995 Spectra
period oscillation (less than 0.5 sec or
higher than 2Hz), but smaller amplitude
for structure with longer period (larger
than 0.5sec).
2.Has the maximum PGA of almost 3
times the maximum PGA of Kobe 1995
3.has narrower range for large spectra
amplitude (0.2 – 0.4 sec), while the Kobe
spectra has a very wide range of large
amplitude (0.2 – 2 sec).
Comparison with world’s well-known earthquakes
Ground motions recorded near Tokyo metropolitan area

Distance (km) PGA (xG)

Station Location Code Provider Horizontal
To epicenter To Fault Groundmotion
Matsudo (Chiba) CHB002 KNET 356.7 136.1 0.290
Mizue (Tokyo) TKY027 KNET 365.7 143.4 0.216
Shiohama (Tokyo) TKY020 KNET 372.6 150.4 0.147
Sunamachi (Tokyo) TKY013 KNET 371.8 149.3 0.144
Shinonome (Tokyo) TKY016 KNET 374.7 152.3 0.164
Urayasu (Chiba) CHB008 KNET 368.7 145.6 0.160
Chiba City (Chiba) CHB009 KNET 362 138 0.183
Yokohama (Kanagawa) KNG002 KNET 402.4 178.1 0.168
Kawaguchi (Saitama) SIT011 KNET 364.9 146.8 0.184
Acceleration Response Spectra for several ground
motions in Tokyo metropolitan area
Acceleration Response Spectra for several ground
motions around Tokyo metropolitan area
Acceleration Response Spectra for several ground motions in and around
Tokyo Metropolitan area and comparison with Building Code
Long Period Ground Motion Characteristics recorded in
Tokyo metropolitan area

Long period shaking for about 1.5 minute

is a particular concern to high-rise buildings and
long-span bridges
Long Period Ground Motion Characteristics recorded in
Tokyo metropolitan area
Sunamachi (K-NET Data)
Dominated by Less
than 1Hz vibration
Long Period Ground Motion Characteristics recorded in
Tokyo metropolitan area
Shiohama (K-NET Data)
Long Period Ground Motion Characteristics recorded in
Tokyo metropolitan area
Urayasu city (K-Net Data)
Displacement Response Estimation of High-rise Building in Tokyo area
Surveyed from 256 Buildings in
Japan. (Miyakoshi & Horike 2008)
The responses of top floor due Tohoku-Kanto Earthquake is
calculated using the following assumptions:
1.One story height is 3m.
2.Predominant Natural period of building follows the relationship: T=
0.023 H (height m)
3.The building response can be modeled by SDOF response with
predominant natural period as defined in (2)
4.Structural system remains linear throughout the excitation
5.Damping ratio 5%
Response Estimation of High-rise
Buildings in Tokyo area : Sunamachi

Input Ground motion TKY013-EW

Intense shaking for

about 2 minutes
Response Estimation of High-rise
Building in Tokyo area : Urayasu

Input Ground motion CHB008-EW

Intense shaking for

about 1.5-2 minutes
Response Estimation of High-rise
Building in Tokyo area : Shiohama

Input Ground motion TKY020-EW

(KNEt Data)

Intense shaking for

about 1.5-2 minutes
Response Estimation of High-rise
Building in Tokyo area : Hongo,
Bunkyo-ku

Input Ground motion Univ. of

Tokyo UTK (BRI Data)

Intense shaking for

about 1.5 minutes
Measured response of a base-isolation 14-story building in Tokyo area

Structural first frequency in

small (linear) excitation

Drop in vibration frequency indicating the structural softening when the base
isolation/sliding system starts to engage
Measured girder response of a long-span cable-stayed bridge in Kanto area
(midspan length : 460m)

Max vertical disp 19.5cm

Max transverse disp 61.8cm

Max long disp 24.5cm

 Disclaimer
Unless mentioned otherwise, charts, figures, and computations are
produced by author.
Others are compiled from the following data source :
Seismographs network in Japan : K-Net Japan, KikNet, Building
Research Institute Japan (BRI)
Japan Meteorology Agency, Geospatial Information Agency of
Japan, Earthquake Research Institute (ERI Univ of Tokyo), NHK,
TEPCO

Tokyo 2011-04-01
14:46

:
.
2011-03-11
14:46